Japan Literature Fiction

Japanese culture has fascinated the West ever since the country’s doors opened up in the 1800s. In many ways, Japan has remained elusive, and people have travelled from all around the world to see for themselves how unique this nation remains. Another way of exploring this enigmatic culture is through its literature. The English language succeeds surprisingly well in revealing the Japanese sense of life.

Uncover Japan's hidden gems with this comprehensive guide to unforgettable adventures that delivers travel tips for authentic, pocket-friendly experiences. Discover the Japan that exists beneath the surface, the Japan that only locals know. This guide is your passport to that world, taking you beyond the surface-level experiences and into the heart of Japan. It's a treasure trove of authentic, unforgettable, and budget-friendly adventures that are waiting for you to uncover.

Bushido: The Soul of Japan is a seminal study on the way of the samurai by the Japanese educator Inazo Nitobe. From 1868, the beginning of the Meiji Era, Japan rapidly transformed itself from an isolated feudal society into a modern, industrialised nation state, influenced by Western philosophical and scientific ideas. Nitobe wrote Bushido in English to explain the samurai way to a western audience; it was later translated into Japanese.

A goblin with no body and a monster with no face. A resourceful samurai and a faithful daughter. A spirit of the moon and a dragon king. This collection of 15 traditional Japanese folktales transports listeners to a time of adventure and enchantment. Drawn from the works of folklorists Lafcadio Hearn and Yei Theodora Ozaki, these tales are by turns terrifying, exhilarating, and poetic.

United States of Japan is set in a gripping alternate history where the Japanese Empire rules over America with huge robots. Is resistance possible in the form of subversive video games? Decades ago, Japan won the Second World War. Americans worship their infallible emperor, and nobody believes that Japan's conduct in the war was anything but exemplary. Nobody, that is, except the George Washingtons, a group of rebels fighting for freedom.

Honour, duty, courage - all these are qualities revered in Japanese tradition. Add to these magic, mystery and above all wit and humour and you are instantly transported into the magical world of Japanese fairy tales.

During his journeys around Japan, Smith recorded ancient Japanese myths and legends in his personal diaries. The result is a fascinating collection of historical legends from all over Japan, with themes including ghosts, unrequited love, Shinto landscape, tree and ocean spirits, samurai culture and tales driven by Bushido and Buddhist ethics. Gordon Smith's writing combines a realist style with supernatural elements, resulting in an anthology of 'magic realist' tales which will bewitch and captivate listeners.

Tales of Old Japan (1871) is an anthology of classic tales compiled by Algernon Bertram Freeman-Mitford, Lord Redesdale. The narratives - adapted from Japanese sources - covers various aspects of Japanese life before the Meiji Restoration of 1868. Engaging with an arresting range of subjects such as Buddhist sermons, knightly exploits, ghost stories, fairy tales, folklore, terrifying vampires, noble samurai, and the plots of four Noh plays, the collection also serves as a treasure trove of information on the customs, characters, and places of the time.

A collection of tense thrilllers, each centered on a mystery and the unfortunate officer tasked with solving it, set in the world of Hideo Yokoyama's bestselling Six Four. Four novellas: Each taking place in 1998. SEASON OF SHADOWS "The force could lose face . . . I want you to fix this."...

Under the guise of machinery for making dumplings, a Spanish factory near Barcelona is secretly producing a key component in the production of nuclear weapons. When information finds its way to the inboxes of Western intelligence agencies that this "dumpling maker" is meant for North Korea, orders go out that the shipment must be stopped. Either the machine must be disabled while still in the factory, or the transportation route must be discovered so the equipment can be intercepted before it reaches its destination.

"WA" is a Japanese word that describes, or encompasses, the “essence” of what it is to “be Japanese”. This spirit is intricately woven throughout these stories as fantastic creatures, fearsome monsters, animals that are all too human, and people that are, well, all too human too. They make choices and fateful decisions that'll take each character on journeys that are terrifying and miraculous, whimsical and thought-provoking, mysterious, magical, and uniquely Japanese. Come along and join them, as life’s lessons are learned, or sometimes not.

Discover the endless fascination of Japanese culture with seven ancient tales, selected for you for their power of evocation, wisdom and humor. Not unlike the western folk tales compiled by the Brothers Grimm, these stories faithfully preserve the spirit of medieval Japan, while rendered in a translation accessible to all ages.

The Noh theatre of Japan was popularized towards the end of the 14th century. It was heavily influenced by Buddhism in philosophy and style, and was made up of dances performed at Shinto shrines to honor spirits and gods and old lyric poetry. Around the same time Shakespeare's Hamlet was being performed in London, Noh was integral to official ceremonies at Kyoto, and young nobles and princes were encouraged to attend and perform. This is a collection of four short plays from the Noh theatres of Japan - Hagoromo, Kumasaka, Kagekiyo, and Nishigiki.

This collection of Japanese poetry was compiled and translated into English from an anthology known as The Collection of Myriad Leaves, and from a number of other anthologies made by imperial decree between the tenth and fifteenth centuries. This period has come to be considered the golden age of Japanese literature. These examples of Japanese poetry exhibit the most exquisite polish, allied with an avoidance of every shocking or perturbing theme; they combine the enduring luster of a precious metal with the tenuity of gold-leaf.

Atomenergie, bakteriologische Kampfmittel, die japanische Mafia der Yakuza, eine Geiselnahme im Shanghai World Financial Center...

The classical poetry of Japan focuses on direct experience of fleeting moments, in total contrast with its Occidental counterpart. These seminal poems were passed down orally, before great collections reassembled works of art spanning several centuries in written form as early as the 8th century, from the Kojiki to the Kokinshu. Later, a number of female writers rose to prominence (Murasaki Shikibu, Sei Shonagon); then in the 17th century, the haiku form became extremely popular, in large part due to the work of Matsuo Bashō, a prolific writer and traveler.

It is as great an offence against a child to starve his mind as to starve his body. The Astorg Audiobook collection means to bring together the fairy tales, stories, myths and legends which have fed the children of many generations in the years when the imagination is awakening and craving stimulus and material to work upon.

Nicht nur die Brüder Grimm oder Hans Christian Andersen haben Märchen gesammelt oder geschrieben, auch in anderen Ländern ist das Märchen selbstverständlich kulturelles Volksgut. In Japan wurden und werden gerne Märchen erzählt - wie diese feine Sammlung von zwanzig wunderbaren Geschichten beweist! Einige Themen kommen uns bekannt vor, anderes ist ganz neu - und natürlich mit dem Kolorit des Asiatischen versehen!

Märchenwelt: Eine Hörbuchreihe mit den schönsten Märchen aus aller Welt.

These six plays are Japanese classics from the 14th century and are presented in the order of a traditional Nō programme. Nō, the Japanese word for "skill", is a form of Japanese musical drama that originated in the eighth century, and is the oldest major theatre art that still survives today. Alongside Nō plays were kyōgen plays, which were short works typically inserted as a comedic interlude of sorts between the more classical Nō performances.